Chevron (NYSE:CVX) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Here’s Why

Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX) shares traded up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $153.12 and last traded at $152.21. 2,477,742 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 7,748,799 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James decreased their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Chevron from $188.00 to $184.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Chevron in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upgraded Chevron from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Chevron from $195.00 to $194.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.33.

Chevron Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.93. The stock has a market cap of $274.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.42 by ($0.36). Chevron had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Chevron Co. will post 11.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Chevron’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Chevron’s payout ratio is 67.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael K. Wirth sold 164,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.13, for a total transaction of $26,357,398.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 4,280 shares in the company, valued at $685,356.40. The trade was a 97.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVX. Marietta Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chevron by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,484 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,965 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Chevron by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. Leo Wealth LLC now owns 8,246 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,214,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Chevron by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 31,108,760 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,581,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,203,899 shares in the last quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Chevron by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. RPG Investment Advisory LLC now owns 121,167 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $17,844,000 after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Chevron by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 159,105,244 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $23,431,429,000 after acquiring an additional 874,962 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.42% of the company’s stock.

About Chevron

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; processing, liquefaction, transportation, and regasification of liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas; and carbon capture and storage, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.